THE Evening Star PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1878.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2915, 19 June 1878, Page 2

THE Evening Star PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1878.

The telegram we published yesterday regarding the decision of the Government not to pay orer to Couoties in which the Act is " bung up " their proportion of toe £40,000 grant- for the counties in the Auckland Provincial TDisLrict has. pn important bearing in more respects than one. The most important phase is in regard to counties working the Act; the next, which we certainly regard as secondary, in relation to those counties whose administrators have- done their best to kill the Act by rendering it inoperative. "While largely in favor of those count'es which have availed themselves of the provisions of local self-government laid down in the Counties Act, we cannot altogether ignore the claims of minorities who found themselves unable to elect men who would ha~e given the Act a fair trial. Some districts in counties in which the Act is, as the Auckland phraseology goes, " hung up," may be deprived of'much needed subsidies by this rlterprolation of the Parliamentary vote. The fault is not with the p ople, but v t .'.th the representatives. It was thought-a- bold stroke of policy to suspend llic administrative functions cf County Cou! cils,.anil make them merely disii-il ulive bodies.. Perhaps the conclusion- now univvil nt by the Government may conviuce the political partizans who obtained seals ni Council boards that they overreached themselves. The next question that arises is this. If counties which have not adopted the Act in its entirely are precluded from participating in the £40,000 grant, on what scale will tbe division be made ? Is it to be on the pro rata principle amongst the sixteen counties, or an equal allocation for tlwse counties which have cdopted the Act and endeavored to carry out its provisions ? We say most unmistakeablv it should be the latter. The vote passed for Counties in due fcrm. If some counties are disqualified from participation, the partition of the vote should be made amongst those counties legally authorised to receive the amounts appertaining to them. The Thames County Council would under.these circumstances be entitled to a larger share than a sixteenth of £40,C00, and we certainly would advise them to apply for it. The financial year will empire, at the end of the month, and if the. vote is not soon allotted, it will lapse . and be relegated to the limbo of unexpended parlif mentary votes. The matter is won thy of consideration; and have no dovrtJ that the Chairman of the Thame3 Uounly Council will be prouipt. to act upon auy suggestion which may possibly result in blinking more revenue to the disl/jcfc. ■ The very fact of the present Government having discovered their dis ability to pay over moneys to Counties not working the Act seems to indicate a desire on their part fo encourage a policy of giving the new system a fair trial, for which we accord them every credit.